1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to wireless mesh networks, and more particularly to a portable wireless mesh device that can be used to provide a temporary and/or rapidly deployable wireless mesh network.
2. Description of the Related Art
The following descriptions and examples are not admitted to be prior art by virtue of their inclusion within this section.
Wireless communication networks have gained widespread use in recent years. Among the commonly used forms of wireless networks are those that implement versions of Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) standard 802.11 (Wi-Fi), IEEE standard 802.15 (Bluetooth) and IEEE standard 802.16 (WiMAX). In general, there is a push in the industry to continually improve both the range and reliability of such networks.
One way to improve the range of a wireless network is to increase the transmission power of one or more nodes on the network. However, at least in the case of many wireless networks, regulations limit the amount of power that a node can use to transmit. Accordingly, another technique that has been used to improve the range of wireless networks is through mesh networking.
A wireless mesh network (WMN) is a communications network made up of a plurality of nodes organized in a mesh topology. As shown in FIG. 1, a wireless mesh network 10 often includes mesh routers (MR), gateways (G) and clients. A set of mesh routers create a wireless mesh backbone 12 that offers services to the clients directly through the mesh routers or gateways. Typical mesh clients 14 can be laptops, cell phones and other wireless devices, which are capable of connecting to the mesh backbone via a wired (e.g., Ethernet) or a wireless (e.g., Wi-Fi, WiMax, Bluetooth, Zigbee, GSM, etc.) communication interface. In some cases, different types of gateways/bridges can be included within the mesh network to provide both wired and wireless client access to the Internet 16, to other client devices 18, and to other wired and wireless networks 20. Examples of such networks may include, but are not limited to, other mesh networks, other wireless networks, cellular networks, and sensor networks. The mesh routers utilize a multi-hop routing protocol and generally function to forward traffic to and from the routers and gateways by “hopping” from one node to the next until the intended destination is reached.
Since each mesh node is connected to several other nodes, the mesh topology shown in FIG. 1 offers redundancy and improves the reliability of the communication network. In addition, the multi-hop routing protocol used by the mesh routers enables the mesh routers to dynamically adjust the routes traveled between nodes to circumvent any broken, blocked, or poorly-performing links along the path between a given source and destination node. As a result, mesh networks are inherently self-healing, in that they maintain communication even when a node breaks down or a link fails. In addition to self-healing, a mesh network is also self-forming and self-configuring, since the nodes in the network have the ability to automatically establish an ad hoc network and maintain mesh connectivity.
One drawback of conventional wireless mesh networks is that the mesh routers are typically fixed in place or have extremely limited mobility, since they generally require a wired connection to either an external network and/or a power source. This renders fixed wireless mesh networks, such as the one shown in FIG. 1, unsuitable for mobile mesh networking applications in which portability of the mesh routers is not only desired, but required to meet the needs of a given application.
For example, it may be desired to provide a temporary and/or rapidly deployable network of mobile mesh nodes to enable robust and reliable wireless connectivity in a variety of different applications. One such application may be to provide wireless connectivity in remote geographical areas having no existing, or very limited, communication infrastructure; or on large construction sites prior to the installation of permanent facilities from a network service provider. As it takes considerable time and cost for a network service provider to run new communication lines to a remote area or new construction site, providing a portable and rapidly deployable solution would offer immediate network connectivity, and thus, be highly desirable.
Another application in which a temporary and/or rapidly deployable wireless mesh network may be desirable is in public safety or disaster situations in which there is a loss of, or a need to supplement, the existing communication infrastructure. For example, it would be desirable to quickly and easily set up a temporary wireless mesh network in disaster locations that have lost communication and/or power, or in public safety situations that would benefit from additional communication, surveillance or sensor monitoring capabilities. In yet another application, a portable wireless mesh network may be useful in providing temporary connectivity for large public venues (such as outdoor festivals, events or fairs), inside buildings or even underground where wireless signal strength is degraded or non-existent.
In order to improve upon conventional wireless mesh networks and meet the needs of these application and others, a highly portable, self-contained wireless mesh device is needed to provide relatively quick and easy network access either outside or inside buildings with no network or power wiring required. In order to meet such need, the present invention provides a wireless mesh device (also referred to herein as a mobile mesh device) that can be deployed and configured for operation in a matter of minutes without the need for a skilled technician. In addition to providing quick and easy network connectivity, the wireless mesh device described herein may also provide location-aware functionality about devices using or within the vicinity of the network, supports remote site sensor monitoring and video surveillance, and is capable of local or remote configuration and management. Furthermore, the wireless mesh device described herein has a ruggedized, tamper-proof form factor that is weather resistant, and is designed to accept a variety of external peripheral attachments that may be used to further extend its capabilities and functionalities. Additional features/advantages of the wireless mesh device will become apparent upon reading this disclosure.